We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen
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DVD details
Actor: MinutemenDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Unknown; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-06-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Plexifilm
DVD Reviews of We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen
DVD Review: Goodbye, D.
Summary: 4 Stars
We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen (Tim Irwin, 2005)
Back in 1984, when I was just a little punk, I would buy just about anything SST Records put out. They were, after all, the home of Black Flag, and what could possibly be more punk than Black Flag? This is how I came into possession of Double Nickels on the Dime, the first Minutemen release I ever owned. At the time, I was used to Black Flag, Husker Du, The Replacements, Rites of Spring, Minor Threat, you know the drill. So I dropped the needle on Double Nickels and listened to the first song. And then the second. And the third. And three minutes had passed, so yeah, I was certainly listening to a punk record, but what the hell was this? Disco played by hamsters? It certainly didn't sound like hardcore. For that matter, it didn't sound like, well, anything.
As a high school kid, I wasn't quite ready to grasp just how brilliant an idea that was, the whole not sounding like anything gig. Now I'm forty years old and I get it, and Double Nickels sounds a whole lot better than it did back then. And so does "Paranoid Time" and Three-Way Tie for Last and all the other stuff the Minutemen put out during their short career, which ended with D. Boon's tragic 1985 death in a car accident. My own stupidity back then, not recognizing the greatness of it, shames me now, but at least, having watched We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen, I realize I'm not the only one who didn't really get it at the time.
The Minutemen were kind of like Einsturzende Neubauten, Swans, or Coil back in the early days: no one really got them except other people who were making music. So many of the interviewees in this doc are other musicians who were active at the time: Black Flag, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Saccharine Trust, Painted Willie, Husker Du, and a whole lot of other bands that you'll recognize if you were an SST fanatic like I was. (You ever wonder where Flea got his main influence for all that funk he lays down? Look no further, it turns out, than Mike Watt.) Irwin intercuts the interviews, and a great deal of footage of Mike Watt from three different stages of his life, with Minutemen concert footage, and if you're one of those like me who didn't get it until it was far too late to see the Minutemen do their thing live, this alone is well worth the price of admission. The interviews themselves struck me, as many music docs do these days, as more a nostalgia trip for those who were there than an attempt to turn a new generation on to the music, but the more of this sort of thing I see, the more I ask myself whether that's a bad thing. (I'm sure this has to do with my own advancing age.) Because of that, I can't really see this appealing to anyone under the age of, oh, thirty-five, but I'd be more than happy to be proven wrong about that. If you were there, however, even if--especially if--you didn't get it at the time, We Jam Econo is must-see TV. ****
DVD Review: We Film Econo!
Summary: 5 Stars
I've been more of an "appreciator" of The Minutemen for years, not really pursuing their music but not changing the station if they came on. After watching "We Jam Econo" I feel like I understand why they made the music they made. It wasn't pretty. They weren't pretty. They weren't making music about pretty things. Their workman ethos guided their creative output allowing them to constantly explore but always remain true to something. I think this film nailed that smack on the head with great interviews and amazing live footage.
The film proceeds with intertwining threads of our brave captain Mike Watt, looking rougher than ever, driving his van on a tour of San Pedro pointing out important landmarks and a vintage Minuteman interview where we learn the most about what motivated them. In between, we get some choice soundbites from the likes of Rollins, Ian McKaye, Keith Morris, and Thurston Moore that help put the band and the music in to context. It was a treat to see the likes of Chuck Dukowski, Keith Morris and even an appearance by Kira Roessler. Having only seen them in pictures it made them seem like real people to hear them speak. I can't imagine you'll see many of these people on film again.
The real star of "We Jam Econo" has to be the generous live footage from all stages of The Minutemen's career. I never saw them live but watching clips of old Minuteman shows blew me away. The film did a great job demonstrating how each member fought tooth and nail, instruments as weapons, to keep the songs going such a crazy intensity while not careening out of control. You see the drummer, Chad Hurley, literally muscling his kit in to submission while Watt struggles to keep his bass from exploding. Meanwhile, D. Boon defied the laws of physics by frantically jumping across the stage while playing some clean blues licks then returning to his mic just in time to spit out the next lyric.
I did appreciate the filmmakers not lingering on D. Boon's death. Once you understand this band and what held them together for those years, you realize there's no way to present the subject that wouldn't seem maudlin. There's a finality in his death that makes sense when you consider how the band lived on the knife's edge. Like the period at the end of a sentence. The reality of putting yourself out there is that when bad things happen, they hit you the hardest. How you soldier on with life is best summed up by the last line in the film.
DVD Review: punk rock changed my life too
Summary: 5 Stars
it's about the minuteman... what else do i have to say? buy it. it's awesome, it has 2 dvds: a documentary and live music. it arrived on time, good price, it rules. i recommend.DVD Review: Great Little Film, But Still Can't Stand the Music
Summary: 3 Stars
To be honest, I never quite "got" the Minutemen. Or a lot of other things for that matter. Outside of Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Channel 3, Angry Samoans, The Dickies, and The Alleycats, I've never had much use for SoCal punk in general and even less for jazz. A fusion of the two sounds about as appealing as a "Friends" marathon.
If you're expecting me to purge my soul and confess that watching "We Jam Econo" has fostered a whole new appreciation for the Minutemen and turned me into a drooling, starry-eyed disciple of D. Boon, well, read no further. Truth is their music still sounds like a busy, clattering, dissonant mess to these ears. There's no denying the energy, heart or conviction, but I can't see myself slapping "Buzz or Howl Under the Influence of Heat" or "Double Nickels on the Dime" into the deck as background music for draining a six-pack during a drive up north in July or tapping my toes along to "This Ain't No Picnic" while waiting for my daughters to get out of gymnastics class at the rec center.
There are much worse ways to spend 91 minutes, though, director Tim Irwin coming up all aces on this meat-and-potatoes documentary about three high-school friends, two of whom (Boon and bassist Mike Watt) were hell bent on stumping, via a punk rock platform, on everything from politics to history to art to paranoia. I'm fully convinced alpha male drummer George Hurley simply tagged along more out of a love for pounding dried animal skins with wooden sticks than the need to cling to anyone else's agenda. Boon and Watt may get all of the print, but without Hurley, this house of cards would have collapsed pretty early on.
Anchored by interviews with Watt - from behind the wheel of his trusty Ford Econoline - and Hurley, as well as testimonials, anecdotes, and a plethora of doomed-to-failure attempts to contextualize the band's sound from a veritable who's who of artsy avant punkers who are beginning to look about as old as I do. Thankfully, Watt gets in and gets out, unlike his on-line tour diaries where he spiels to the Rapture and beyond about minutiae like John friggin' Coltrane, hot sauce, piss jugs, hell rides and playing "the little bass."
As you probably suspected, "We Jam Econo," and the Minutemen, come to a rather abrupt crescendo with the Tucson, Arizona van crash that took Boon much too soon in 1985 at the tender age of 27, Watt and Hurley still not quite completely at terms with it some twenty years later. If it's not already obvious, early and untimely fatalities are quickly becoming the touchstone of any rock doc worth its salt (read "End of the Century," "New York Doll," "All Dolled Up," "The Filth & The Fury," ad nauseum).
There's an additional disc bundled here which captures three performances at The Starwood, the 9:30 Club, and the Acoustic Blowout, but I just didn't have the stomach or patience to sit through 62 Minutemen songs. I'm twitchy enough as it is.
DVD Review: One of the best music DVD's ever.
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a great movie. A must see for any Minutemen fan. The documentary is one of the best band bio's that I have ever seen. And the concert DVD is worth the price alone!
This band in concert was killer! And you get so many songs! Ha!
You get two concerts, one pre-double nickles on the dime, where D.Boon is playing so hard that he breaks nearly all of the strings on his Telecaster! And the second, which is during the Double Nickles tour, and is freaking awesome! D.Boon's jumping around like a madman and Mike Watt is playing without a Pick. George Hurley is simply one of the best all time drumers.Plus you get an acoustic set which is really cool! I am having to restrain myself from gushing all over the Minutemen hear, because I they are one of my favorite all time bands. So do yourself a favor and buy this, because you will want to watch it over and over and over...
5 Stars easy.
Description of We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen
WE JAM ECONO - THE STORY OF THE MINUTEMEN is the acclaimed feature-length documentary on the too-brief life of one of the most revered, intriguing, and inspired American bands ever. At the heart of their story is the immeasurable personal and musical bond between bassist Mike Watt and singer and guiatrist D. Boon. Childhood friends, their unbridled creativity and political views were the foundation of this groundbreaking band which refused to be categorized as Punk.The film weaves together personal tales from Watt and drummer George Hurley with archival interview footage of the band and rare live performances. New interviews with over 50 musicians, artists, journalists, and friends help tell the Minutemen story, from their humble beginnings in the harbor town of San Pedro, California, to the tragic 1985 death of D. Boon in a highway accident in the Arizona desert.
Chances are if Alt-Rock changed your life in the 1990s you have the 1980s band The Minutemen to thank. And for those of you who missed out when The Minutemen were at the top of their game, you're in luck. We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen is the long-awaited documentary of this wildly eclectic, seminal indie punk band. San Pedro High School graduates and long time friends D. Boon (guitar), Mike Watt (bass), and George Hurley (drums) formed The Minutemen in 1980 in the wake of the late seventies punk explosion. The Minutemen's trademark sound was a unique blend of punk, funk, classic rock riffs, mexicali rhythms and jazz beats sprinkled with a healthy dose of left wing politics and angst. These genres were often blended together into the same song and played in rapid fire bursts clocking in at one to two minutes tops. Their relentless touring and recording helped The Minutemen build a solid underground following while winning praises of music critics everywhere. After releasing their magnum opus Double Nickels On the Dime (1984) and opening for REM in 1985, the Minutemen were quickly rising to the top of the American Underground/College Rock heap. It looked as though super stardom may have been on the horizon for the boys from San Pedro. Sadly, the ride would be cut short when front man D. Boon died in a car crash on December 22, 1985. Culled from hours of home video footage, live concert footage and new interviews with Mike Watt and George Hurley, We Jam Econo chronicles the band from their early teen years, the band's roots in the 1980s Southern California hardcore scene, right up to the tragic death of front man D. Boon. We Jam Econo also includes loads of interviews from fellow musicians that read like a "who's who" list of the 1980s punk/ hardcore scene including the guys from Black Flag, X's John Doe, Minor Threat/ Fugazi's Ian MacKaye, H?sker D?'s Greg Norton and Grant Hart, Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Dead Kennedys' Jello Biafra, Dinosaur Jr.'s J. Mascis, Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo, among many other admirers. The extras on this DVD include deleted scenes and extended interviews, their music videos and a complete band interview from 1985. By far the best extra on this set are the three complete live Minutemen performances from 1980, 1984, and 1985. --Rob Bracco
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